Dean's Advisory Council

Mike Heard
Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer
National Organization of Life and Health Insurance Guaranty Associations

Mike Heard is the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of NOLHGA. He supervises NOLHGA resources deployed to assist state guaranty associations in managing insolvencies, develops and implements the organization’s strategic initiatives, and oversees NOLHGA’s communications efforts. In addition, he is responsible for the efficiency and effectiveness of the internal operations of NOLHGA.

Heard, who joined NOLHGA in September 2021, has over 25 years of life and health insurance experience, with particular expertise in long-term care (LTC) and other health products. He worked as a senior officer with GE Financial/Genworth and, more recently, with CNO Financial Group, a domestic life insurance company based in Carmel, Indiana.

In 2013, Heard joined CNO Financial Group in Carmel, Indiana, as Senior Vice President, where he was responsible for insurance operations for more than 3 million customers and over $2 billion in benefits transactions annually. In 2017, Heard was appointed President of Washington National Insurance Company, a leading provider of supplemental health and life insurance, serving 1 million policyholders and 25,000 employer groups through 2,000 independent agents. In 2020, he was appointed President of the Worksite Division of CNO, and he led the division through two acquisitions and the global pandemic.

Heard attended Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, where he earned both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in Industrial Engineering. He currently serves on the Dean’s Advisory Council at the School of Management at Purdue and is a member of the Board of Beyond Monumental, the organizer of the Indianapolis Monumental Marathon. He also is a retired U.S. Air Force officer serving in both the active and reserve forces, including a tour at the Pentagon.